Shipwreck on the Sahara | The Storm | 1

Shipwreck on the Sahara | The Storm | 1

In August 1815, a ship called The Commerce runs aground off the coast of Northwest Africa. Onboard are eleven crew members who are merchant traders who have no choice but to row to shore. They will soon find themselves at the edge of the Sahara, one of the most inhospitable places on earth where oasis settlements are controlled by tribes who also run the trans-Saharan slave trade. With no way to escape and dwindling supplies, they will need to cross the largest hot desert in the world. If captured by desert tribes, they face enslavement or death, but without help from locals, they will die of hunger and thirst.

This is the true story of the men who survived the journey based on the journals they wrote. It’s about sacrifice and human endurance and the fight to get home. But their odyssey will have a much greater impact than on just their own lives – it will influence a future president and impact a nation in ways that are still felt even today.

We recommend Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival by Dean King for more reading.

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Episoder(257)

Miracle in the North Atlantic | The Dark Ocean | 1

Miracle in the North Atlantic | The Dark Ocean | 1

In 1984, a young fisherman named Gudlaugur Fridthorsson — better known as “Laugi”— headed out to sea off the coast of Iceland in a small fishing trawler. But the first night of the trip, their boat ca...

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In Their Own Words: Trapped After a Car Crash | 1

In Their Own Words: Trapped After a Car Crash | 1

In December of 2023, Matt Reum spun off a freeway in Indiana to avoid something in the road. His pickup truck rolled down a hill and landed under a bridge where no one could see him. Matt spent the ne...

2 Des 202534min

Tsunami in Thailand | The Missing | 4

Tsunami in Thailand | The Missing | 4

By the early afternoon, the water started to recede back out to sea. But the destruction left in its wake was devastating. Communications were down, roads were washed out. First responders raced to re...

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Tsunami in Thailand | Devastation | 3

Tsunami in Thailand | Devastation | 3

As the force of the waves lessened, survivors faced a new problem: they were trapped in the mass of debris the tsunami generated. Stuck between a swirl of cars, building remains, and dead bodies, the ...

18 Nov 202531min

Tsunami in Thailand | Overtaken | 2

Tsunami in Thailand | Overtaken | 2

As the wave barreled ashore on Thailand’s west coast, people were sucked under a powerful wall of water that was so strong it ripped the clothes off their backs. It separated husbands from wives, and ...

11 Nov 202530min

Tsunami in Thailand | Strange Tide | 1

Tsunami in Thailand | Strange Tide | 1

On the morning of December 26th, 2004, a 9.1 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean, triggering a tsunami. Along Thailand’s west coast, tourists like Ed and Helen Muesch, and residents like fisherman W...

4 Nov 202540min

In Their Own Words: Mauled By A Grizzly | 1

In Their Own Words: Mauled By A Grizzly | 1

In the summer of 2005, 17-year-old Alex Messenger sets out on a 42-day canoe trip in the remote wilderness of northern Canada. For nearly a month, he and his fellow campers paddle through rivers and l...

28 Okt 202551min

The Big Burn | Fight Fire with Fire | 4

The Big Burn | Fight Fire with Fire | 4

The Buffalo Soldiers evacuate women and children from Avery, Idaho by train, but they don’t get far before the fire catches up to them. Emma Pulaski receives terrible news about her husband. With the ...

21 Okt 202543min

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